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To eat or not to eat: breakfast
12-17-2017, 04:04 AM
Has anybody found a good reason to either eat or not eat breakfast daily?
I usually don't get up early enough to get breakfast in before work, so I often skip it, and do a brunch-type thing for weekends. I don't think I've noticed any ill effect, but curious what others' experiences are. (I don't do coffee either so I'm usually not putting anything but water in my body until lunchtime.)
I'll note two points of pop-science:
On one hand, I'm told (from a Jordan Peterson video) that eating a big, fat/protein-heavy breakfast is a hedge against anxiety. I tried going hard on the bakey-eggs, and maybe it helped me focus a bit at work but maybe that was just the effect of the discipline itself.
On the other, I saw Rhonda Patrick on Joe Rogan's podcast talking about time-restricted eating and saying that 11 hours is a good window, which for me would cover lunch, dinner and a late snack but NOT an earlier breakfast.
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To eat or not to eat: breakfast
12-17-2017, 04:16 AM
I believe ultimately you should test- if you skip breakfast(or eating in general) and you feel "low" but feel better when you eat- you should just eat. However nothing wrong with skipping it if you don't feel anything.
Skipping breakfast is IF- IF is a stressor(like exercise), but can be good.
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To eat or not to eat: breakfast
12-17-2017, 11:17 AM
Jury's out. I used to do IF and a morning work out without breakfast. Just drank some tea without sugar.
Nowadays, I still eat a breakfast but it's very light and quick. Go out to the store, buy some cottage cheese, baked beans, oatmeal, and milk. It takes 5 minutes to prep that meal and is easy to go down because it's mostly semi-liquid.
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To eat or not to eat: breakfast
12-17-2017, 11:26 AM
Years ago, I was teaching English to a group of Chinese students. When I asked them what they had for breakfast, they all said the same thing: milk and bread. And, as you might imagine, they all were skinny.
Recently, I adopted this Chinese model and I've been very happy with it. A glass of almond milk with a piece of bread, and then I bounce out the door. It's just enough to satiate my appetite and give me energy for the morning. And moreover, it really does not move the digits on the scale.
So I vote for a small breakfast...almost a snack, essentially. This is, in my opinion, superior to eating nothing, as well as eating too much (pancakes, eggs, etc.).
"Action still preserves for us a hope that we may stand erect." - Thucydides (from History of the Peloponnesian War)
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To eat or not to eat: breakfast
12-17-2017, 06:30 PM
The Russians have a saying:
Breakfast is for you (eating early is good for you)
Lunch is for your friends (lunch if for socialising)
Dinner is for your enemies (dinner makes you fat)
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To eat or not to eat: breakfast
12-17-2017, 06:33 PM
Eat breakfast, Dude. It's fundamental to starting your metabolism. You'll burn more calories through the day if you've eaten breakfast, which, by the way, means that exercise in the morning--as opposed to the evening is more beneficial.
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To eat or not to eat: breakfast
12-17-2017, 06:44 PM
Team breakfast here.
When I was in my 20s I never ate breakfast, wouldn't eat until 2 or so. I think it's one of the things that destroyed my digestive system.
Lately I've been working a day job for the 1st time in awhile. I started out eating breakfast at home before leaving, eggs and rice/GF bread, or a hot cereal with fruit preserves and butter. Then I tried just bringing the hot cereal since I could make it the night before and save time, but then I ate breakfast much later.
For some reason I feel much better if I eat before I go in. I'm not sure why, but I do. Either way I always eat breakfast. Those odd weekend days where I sleep in and don't eat til 12:00-1pm, I just don't feel as well.
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To eat or not to eat: breakfast
12-17-2017, 07:34 PM
If you wanna get jacked, eat breakfast.
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To eat or not to eat: breakfast
12-18-2017, 01:26 AM
Different people have different needs. The benefits of intermittent fasting have been proven, but there are right ways and wrong ways of doing it. I heard Tim Ferriss recently remark that when he's in ketosis he doesn't need breakfast, otherwise he does. Do we have any RDs on here? If you want to dig in to the science of diet here's a short list of bloggers/researchers I've found interesting.
Dominic D'Agostino (big keto guy)
Rhonda Patrick
Denise Minger (debunks the China Study)
Terry Wahls (MD who treats her own MS with diet)
Lierre Keith (went from vegan to paleo)
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To eat or not to eat: breakfast
12-18-2017, 03:28 AM
I was told by a nutritionist that 90% of people don't wake up hungry and eat breakfast more as a ritual than anything else.
I was surprised this this, because I wake up hungry.
Apparently, if you wake up hungry, you should eat breakfast; but if you don't wake up hungry, you shouldn't have anything representing a substantial meal.
The nutritionist explained that it's natural not to feel hungry in the morning, because in hunter-gatherer days you usually would only have food available towards the end of a day's work.
I'm not sure how accurate his opinions are on the breakfast thing but it's something to ponder. I wake up hungry and I have to eat. But I've spoken to some people and there are indeed people that eat breakfast even though they don't really feel hungry in the morning.
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To eat or not to eat: breakfast
12-18-2017, 12:37 PM
I agree with Thomas and IF in general. Has worked for me (blood type O hunter gatherer). I usually aim for at least 12 hours and more like 14 hrs between dinner and 'brunch.' It can vary on if I'm recovering from an intense workout / sport activity or just in maintenance.
Drink a glass or two of water on waking. Add lemon to help detox your liver and alkalize your blood.
I avoid gluten / bread / wheat as much as possible as modern wheat is NOT healthy, whether labeled 'organic' or not. It was hybridized in the 1970s with wild strains that now caused or exacerbated gut dysbiosis, multiple sclerosis (as Terry Wahls has healed herself from), and pretty much every auto immune disease you can name.
I'm also anti-bean as they're also hard on the gut but some types can tolerate them okay.
A few medium boiled eggs, some natural uncured pastrami, and a little ghee / clarified butter are my staple starter meal.
Any liquids should be 30 min before eating or 60 min eating to allow full digestion and absorption.
Kombucha is a great way to get beneficial bacteria. The 'Bu' brand at whole foods is low sugar and really pleasant. I also like GT Dave.
I think juiced vegetables (with little fruit) are best had in afternoon or early evening, not first thing but see what your body responds to well. You shouldn't need they much fuel first thing in the morning if you ate well at supper and got enough sleep. Lack of sleep triggers hormones that increase hunger cravings.
I am a fan of salmon sashimi and every other day will have 'sake' sushi (salmon sashimi over sushi rice). The husk from brown rice can irritate the stomach and gut lining. White rice is pure glucose, good fuel for your muscles in recovery. Sometimes I will also have sashimi for brunch.
Smachnego!
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To eat or not to eat: breakfast
12-18-2017, 01:54 PM
100% dependent on your personal goals and lifestyle. I would say it is generally to your benefit to get some good calories in your body soon after you wake up unless you are specifically on a weight-loss sort of regiment. I can't think of a good argument against eating an early breakfast unless you are intentionally trying to fast.
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To eat or not to eat: breakfast
12-18-2017, 03:54 PM
I've found that I lose weight easier when I eat breakfast almost immediately upon waking (something like a hard boiled egg, a stick of celery, and a cup of black coffee).
I've also found that when I restrict my eating window to 11am-8pm I don't feel hungry or poorly at all, I save money on food, and I keep or gain muscle mass much easier. But I find it hard to lose weight quickly.
So if your body responds in any way like mine, I recommend early breakfasts to shed belly fat and IF to maintain. Assuming the food you do eat is reasonably healthy (grass fed meat, fresh veggies, etc).
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To eat or not to eat: breakfast
12-20-2017, 02:45 AM
Apparently limiting your food and non-water drinks to a 9 hour window per day increases your muscle mass compared to otherwise.
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To eat or not to eat: breakfast
12-20-2017, 04:25 PM
I am a strong believer in IF. Skipping breakfast make my day so much easier. I do miss having breakfast some days. I do allow to have brunch sometimes as long as it is within my feeding period. The key is to maintain a consistent fasting period in order to not over eat or under eat.
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To eat or not to eat: breakfast
12-21-2017, 02:10 AM
Quote: (12-17-2017 04:04 AM)BadgerHut Wrote:
Has anybody found a good reason to either eat or not eat breakfast daily?
I usually don't get up early enough to get breakfast in before work, so I often skip it, and do a brunch-type thing for weekends. I don't think I've noticed any ill effect, but curious what others' experiences are. (I don't do coffee either so I'm usually not putting anything but water in my body until lunchtime.)
I'll note two points of pop-science:
On one hand, I'm told (from a Jordan Peterson video) that eating a big, fat/protein-heavy breakfast is a hedge against anxiety. I tried going hard on the bakey-eggs, and maybe it helped me focus a bit at work but maybe that was just the effect of the discipline itself.
On the other, I saw Rhonda Patrick on Joe Rogan's podcast talking about time-restricted eating and saying that 11 hours is a good window, which for me would cover lunch, dinner and a late snack but NOT an earlier breakfast.
Sir don't skip breakfast, As far for my knowledge you should your day with heavy breakfast, if you want you can skip after meals.
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To eat or not to eat: breakfast
12-21-2017, 11:01 AM
Eating breakfast (especially a carb heavy one) fuels insulin resistance in a lot of people. There is a fundamental difference in how your body responds to food at different times of the day. I'm switching to IF.
"Breakfast is a dangerous meal" - great book on the topic by a medical doctor who lays out the scientific arguments.
PM me for accommodation options in Bangkok.
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To eat or not to eat: breakfast
12-21-2017, 11:08 AM
Try different things. You'll know what works for you.
Something potentially good didn't work:
It's like morning workouts for me. I know they're a good thing. I know many who say the results from that type of discipline is awesome. But I hate it. I tried it for a month or two and hated it. Maybe someday, but for now I can't.
Something good did work:
I cut refined carbs and sugar out for a while (mostly) just to try it. Specifically, no more pasta ever. A few months later I ate a lasagna at a family thing, felt like shit for hours after. It changed my life. I realized that sick full feeling was simply inflammation from refined carbs. Nowadays I eat less refined carbs, and it's not because of discipline, it's because I don't want to feel like shit.
“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”
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To eat or not to eat: breakfast
12-22-2017, 10:06 PM
I feel most people's views on breakfast come from Kellogg and Post cereal commercials that ran on Saturday morning cartoons when they were kids.
A cartoon character commercial cuts to a picture of a table with toast, eggs, bacon, fruit, glass of milk and a box of Fruity Pebbles... the announcer then says "Fruity Pebbles is part of this complete breakfast". That always got me thinking WTF does that even mean? "Part" of this complete breakfast. If I put a box of Fruity Pebbles in a bag with some jumper cables, a socket set, wrenches and a tow rope would I be able to say "Fruity Pebbles is a part of this emergency roadside tool kit."? The phrase is burned in to the lexicon of everyone but it makes no damn sense.
Another thing I hear from breakfast advocates are words like "boost", "kick start", "rev up", "jump start" when referring to metabolism. These words are meaningless to me as well and whenever I ask anyone what do you mean by "boost" or "rev up", they can't give me a response. I ask why can't I do my "boosting" at 11am instead of 8am and I can't get an answer.
I am not knocking eating breakfast by any means, and I am intrigued by OP's mention of fatty/protein rich breakfast in being a hedge against anxiety. I generally don't eat until around noon because I am not hungry until noon and I generally feel more alert when I am in a fasted state (although I admit I do feel anxious at times as well).
I have been in to IF off and on for about 4 years now by skipping breakfast with great results as far as my body fat percentage is concerned. I have noticed I am more anxious from time to time though, I was attributing it to a job change and high caffeine. I might try having some eggs and meat right when I wake up for a bit and see if anything changes.
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To eat or not to eat: breakfast
12-22-2017, 10:47 PM
I love fruity pebbles though.